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3 Kale Juice Recipes We Love

Posted by Maggie Hoffman, Mar 15, 2012

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

On an average day, the kitchen table at Serious Eats headquarters is usually covered with a box of leftover pizza from a photoshoot, an assortment of seasonal candy, a Tupperware full of excellent homemade cookies from Sweets Editor/Cookie Monster Carrie Vasios, a milky ball of Di Palo's mozzarella, a few pork products, a cutting board covered with 4 different meat-stuffed sandwiches, and some pasta leftovers from a recent restaurant review. And that's before you even open the fridge. Suffice it to say, sometimes we gobble it all up, and sometimes our bodies scream, Stop! Eat something green, for once!

So we turn to kale. We crave it—in salads, in soup, in stir fries, and even in drinks. Here are a few of our favorite kale juice combinations, from sweet-and-tart to savory.

First things first: you need a lot of kale to make juice. We found that a 1.5 pound bunch of kale yielded 1 cup of vivid green juice in our Breville Dual Disc juicer (thanks to Breville for providing it for recipe testing!), though your results may vary depending on what juicer you're using and how dry your kale is. But a little straight kale juice goes a long way—it seems to work best when balanced with other flavors. Here are 3 great combos.

Root for Mint

You've probably had carrot juice before, but what about juicing its root-vegetable cousin, the parsnip? Parsnip juice is earthy and almost candy-sweet, and it's wonderful mixed with fresh apple and kale juice. This combination is pretty obsession-worthy, especially with the bright, fresh addition of mint and lime. (It works in a mojito, right?) Don't let the root veg scare you away, this stuff's delicious.

The Kale Mary

If sturdy-leaved kale wants to be savory, why not just let it be savory? We adore this combination of kale juice with fresh tomato juice (we used grape tomatoes since the full-size ones are pretty flavorless this time of year.) Throw in a little celery, a pinch of horseradish, and some soy sauce to up the umami and you've got a Bloody Mary-inspired drink that really doesn't need vodka.

Spicy-Tart Kale Limeade

Assertive kale juice can overpower other flavors, but this refreshing and approachable kale juice blend balances and tames the deep green flavor with fresh apple juice and soothing coconut water. A blast of ginger makes it spicy, and fresh lime keeps it lively.